Hello there. Well, it has been over 6 months, but I have an update to post. First, I’m going to wrap-up the story/adventure that I started 11 months ago by posting about my last week in Costa Rica with my parents – like I promised and then, in the next post, I will explain why I’m starting to blog again (Hint: I’m back in Costa Rica!).

So, in nutshell, my last week in Costa Rica in may went something like this: My parents came to San Jose, in order to drag me back home (they knew I was going to want to stay in Costa Rica!), but before I was forced to get on the plane home, we had the opportunity to travel around so I could show them a bit of the country I had called home for a semester. They were able to come to ACM on the last few days of class activities, they met my classmates and professors, we got to meet part of my host family, and got to see a bit of what my life was like in San Jose.

Next, we took off to visit Monteverde – a popular tourist destination for the sights (animals, esp birds) of the cloud forest & a typical tourist activity: Zip-lining through the canopy! Getting to Monteverde was half of the adventure: rumbling along rock roads that were washed out in places in our 10-passenger van (Interbus!) was probably not Mom’s favorite part, but we made it! I loved our little cottage-style environmentally friendly hotel where we stayed, but as I mentioned, the highlight was the Zip-lining. I couldn’t believe how easily Mom went for it, considering her fear of heights, but we all had a blast! My favorite part was making friends with the fun staff people – I was already missing speaking Spanish, so I showed off by using typical tico phrases to get a conversation with them going in Spanish. The funniest part was the end: a kilometer-long cable that, in order to make it all the way, had to be traversed by pairs of zip-liners hooked together. Boy did we fly! As evidenced by the facial expression I captured on camera at the end of the line, Mom didn’t believe she and dad would be able to stop in time to avoid crashing into the giant tree that the last platform surrounded (For mom’s sake I won’t post that particular picture, but Family you will definitely be able to see it when I have it printed! 😀 )

Next stop – after another shaky bus trip – was my second visit to La Fortuna, to see Volcano Arenal. We were lucky to have fantastic weather that allowed us to see the volcano the entire day – the great view from our hotel room balcony and when we went to hike around it. We hiked on the path from old lava from an eruption in 1968. Mom and I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity for some relaxation time in the volcanic hot springs.

Finally, we headed to the West coast, for my second visit to Tamarindo. There we stayed in the only beach-side resort in Tamarindo and practiced the epitome of vacation: we lounged by the pool or on the beach – I worked (a little too much) on topping of my Costa Rica tan, we meandered the streets at night to find dinner and peruse the shops, and enjoyed the fabulous sunsets that the Pacific coast of Costa Rica so often delivers.

It soon came to an end. It was a very strange feeling: it felt like a vacation with my parents, but that the end of the vacation would bring my return to ACM and classes and my friends that I had made throughout the semester. But when we returned to San Jose, I stayed in a hotel, not a home. It was really over. Obviously there was a part of me that was pretty excited to get back to the states: I was going back, spending a whirlwind 16 hours at my house just to unpack, do laundry, (a tiny bit of sleep), and repack to move down to St. Olaf for the summer, I would get to see some of my friends and roommates graduate – some that I hadn’t seen for 5 months! But I was also very sad to be leaving behind such a great time that I had been having. I didn’t even know then the impact this experience had on me – and would continue to influence my life decisions months afterwards. The one thing that made it easier to leave was the thought that in 6 months, I would have the opportunity to return….